Tuesday, November 25, 2003

The Army cooks never take a day off. And every Thanksgiving - especially when deployed, they pull out all the stops.

Most units are even able to access a special pot of money to buy special table cloths and other decor just for this most American of holidays.

If you have a soldier deployed...you can bet they will eat every bit as well as you will on Thanksgiving day.

As soon as the supplies arrive, Army cooks will be helping to put the finishing touches on the Thanksgiving feast by putting up decorations, setting up tables, assisting the chefs and using their culinary skills to erect sculptures out of chocolate and ice.

The Thanksgiving Day dinner will be available for all soldiers working in the 82nd Airborne area of operations, Sumler said.

With the extra surprises planned, as well as the extra effort being put forth by Army cooks, Sumler said he hopes it will allow soldiers to forget about their current situation for a short while.

“You take a moment, five minutes, an hour, a day, to realize what you are thankful for, make the soldiers feel like they are back home, and be thankful for what they have,” said Sumler.

“The goal is to take care of the Soldiers,” Sumler said. “A lot of planning has gone into this, and the chain of command has given us all of their support.”